Republicans delay US House vote to halt Iran war that was on verge of passing

By AP 22 May 2026, 2:45 am

Edit

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, and House GOP leaders depart a news conference, at the Capitol in Washington, May 20, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans struggled yesterday to find the votes to dismiss legislation that would compel President Donald Trump to withdraw from the war with Iran, delaying planned votes on the matter into June.

The House had scheduled a vote on a war powers resolution, brought by Democrats, that would rein in Trump’s military campaign. But as it becomes clear that Republicans would not have the numbers to defeat the bill, GOP leaders decline to hold a vote on it.

Republicans are also working to ensure they have the votes to dismiss another war powers resolution in the Senate that advanced to a final vote earlier this week, when four GOP senators supported the resolution and three others were absent from the vote.

The actions by congressional leaders showed the increasing difficultly of maintaining political backing for Trump’s handling of the war. Rank-and-file Republicans are increasingly willing to defy the president over the conflict.